CINQUE TERRE, ITALY LA TORRETTA LODGE - MANOROLA…read more UP FRONT: When you visit Cinque Terre in Italy, (literally "five lands"), you have five choices on where to stay out of the five fishing villages. If you're like most tourists, you're going to visit all of them, but one has to be your "home base". After visiting all of them, I think your best bet is either Manorola or Monterosso. The scenery in both places is astounding. Manorola is small and quiet and has some cliffs you can dive off at the bottom of the hill. Monterosso is a bit more sprawling and has a good stretch of beach. We stayed in Manorola two nights. Got the tip about La Torretta on Trip Advisor. This hotel is a dream. From start to finish, it felt too good to be true. Check in was a breeze - it was only us in the lobby - and we sipped Prosecco on the patio while the front desk copied our passports and finished up the paper work. Our room #7 was at the very top with the most breathtaking view (see photo). Bed was very comfortable, and the bathtub (we didn't use it) is literally the biggest I've ever seen - HUGE. No problems with the room - temperature control was good, mini-bar was complimentary. Be aware there is no phone in the room, and if you need something, you need to go down the steps to the office or call down from the window as you see the hotel staff moving about the property. lol. I did that once, we needed towels for the room, but no phone, so I just called out to the maid while I was standing on the balcony. It worked. The hotel sits on top of the hill. You walk down the hill to all the shops and restaurants. There's everything you need, ATM machine, train station, pharmacy, and more. At the bottom of the hill is the ocean, no beach, but there are places where you can lay out and many people do. There's also swimming allowed and the water is so cold and refreshing. You can dive in from many areas, and climb to the cliffs where you will be afraid to jump, but do it, it's so much fun. It took me 15 minutes to get enough courage to get off the cliff, but with the encouragement of fellow cliff divers, I was able to do it. Kept going back up to the top to do it again. There's breakfast in the mornings, all kinds of goodies - meats and cheeses, croissants, pastries and of course coffee. The hotel staff work hard to make sure you have everything you need. But keep in mind, they are not at the front desk 24/7. They close at 9:30 PM and they weren't clear about that when we checked in - neither did they say there was no phone in room. When we left, we were taking a train at the bottom of the hill, and they brought our luggage down with a golf cart. All the good things that have been said in the reviews are true - nothing hyped up about this place. Worth every dollar we spent on the room. Recommended restaurant around the corner: TRATTORIA DAL BILLY

La Toretta was a diamond in the rough for us, as we had started to plan our trip towards the Cinque…read moreTerra area, a friend recommended this hotel to us. Coming in on the offseason, we were still greated by a concierge who met us at the bottom of the mountain, and drove us up to the wonderful views that Manarolla had to offer. We checked in, but before that, we were given gifts of food and champagne to celebrate our arrival there. The view was outstanding, and the hosts were more than generous. They talked with us about where we had been, where we were coming from in the United States, and also about what else we had planned. To top off how great of a stay we had... they gave us an upgrade to the honeymoon suite for free! The room was absolutely gorgeous! A giant tub in the room, fiberoptic lights in the ceiling, and a gorgeous breakfast spread for nothing?!? It was amazing. To truly make it, what it was... as much as everyone always wants to be connected to the world... I was glad that I could not get any wifi at the hotel. It was nice to finally be away from everything, and not to be bothered by anything or anyone. We were left alone... to be alone. Waking up and taking in the view from our hotel room left us enjoying the beautiful views of the sea. Not to mention a nice little gift of bottle of champagne that was waiting for us once we got back from visiting the rest of Cinque Terra area.... as the concierge said... "Just because" I would recommend this place to ANYONE visiting the area... it is a little pricey, however I can tell you that the service is top notch, and well worth the euro's in my book.

Excellent and well run hotel in what I believe is the most beautiful of the villages of Cinque…read moreTerra. The trailhead to Corniglia is literally across the street and it's a few moments to the wonderful focacciaria up the hill. Breakfast is very traditional Italian- meaning coffee juice and pastries.

I really enjoyed my stay here. Very nice hotel in a good location. Just take the train to Manarola,…read morego through the tunnel and walk about a third of the way up the hill. It'll be on the right-hand side. No elevators, but you should be prepared for Cinque Terre elevation gain anyways. Rooms were clean and service was friendly. Bathroom layout was good. I think there are only 13 rooms, so reserve early if you want to stay here. You can open your window in the morning and feel the morning air. I didn't opt for the breakfast, but whatever they were baking in the morning smelled fantastic.

We had an incredible stay at Hotel Marina Piccola and are so glad that we chose them as our home…read morebase while visiting Cinque Terre. The hotel is centrally located in Manarola but is also very peaceful and quiet. They have rooms with a sea view or a town view. The rooms are very spacious and have lots of counter space. The bathroom and shower were also really spacious. Jessica and Alberto were very friendly and helpful and helped us to make dinner reservations, bought our Cinque Terre cards at a discounted rate, told us some hiking tips, and prepared takeaway breakfasts when we had to checkout early. They were super responsive on email for the months leading up to the trip too which we really appreciated. Mary Rose was very friendly and made delightful cappuccinos, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast every morning. The rest of the breakfast spread (lemon tarts, jam tarts, chocolate brownies, croissants, yogurt, granola, bread, cheese, meats, cereal, juices) was also incredible. They will hold your bags for you if you need it, either before check-in or after check-out. We can honestly say that we would come back and stay here again in a heartbeat! The rooms, the customer service, and the town of Manarola were perfect.

Everyone was so kind, from start to finish. A charming little hotel and respite in the center of…read morethe tourist drag right on the water in Manarola---the rooms and hotel were so clean, morning breakfast was beautiful. Continental offerings with ham, yogurt and fruit, pastry and cheeses etcetera but someone was there to make hot eggs, too. Steps from the water front and some good restaurants nearby. Yes it's a tourist area and you have to park up top at the public parking (pay in lot, free on the street) so pack light and carry your stuff down the HUGE 15 minute hill--but the hotel is a great option for the center of town. Would go again.

Emiliano is an excellent proprietor! He is a young, friendly, italian man who is eager to help…read more I advice to ask for the Marco Polo room. It is on the top floor, not to far from the ocean, yet overlooking the entire town. It has a private, semi-wrap balcony, large enough for a table and some chairs. I can't speak for the other rooms, but the Marco Polo room comes with a kitchenette and lots of windows. The only downsides were the noisy mornings due to construction (which I imagine won't always be going on) and we couldn't turn on the heater for more than a couple hours at night. The owner said it was due to regulations, but it was too inconsistent. I think the owner was personally restricting our use of the heater. All things considered, I would definitely stay here again. Nothing beats the view.

We stayed at the Abel Tasman for our honeymoon. The room has a great view of the main street, the…read moretown, the boats in the docking area, and the ocean. We had some lounge chairs: 2 recliners if you can borrow one from the hallway, or 1 normal chair and a lounge chair. The Wi-Fi is strong, but slows down in the evening. They had a new air conditioner and it was needed. It kept the room cool when in August the outside is hot. Getting there requires walking up a hill, but what place does not in Cinque Terre? The inn keeper and the cleaning lady are very nice. They helped when I got sick to find a doctor in town. I would stay here again.

This company has several apartments to rent in the Cinque Terre region in Italy. We stayed at the…read moreproperty, Lorena 2 in Riomaggiore. There are plenty of options in all of the towns depending on what you were looking for. We wanted a place with a balcony that could sleep three adult men. We just just that. It was a two level apartment right in the heart of Riomaggiore. We had a balcony overlooking the harbor and we each had our own room. And the price was better than most hotels and other apartments in the area. + Place also had free WiFi - Make sure you figure out when and how you are going to meet landlord. Payphones are hard to find.

We had an amazing stay through A Casa Cinque Terre. Our apartment was clean, well located, and…read moreaffordable. I took some of my best pictures of my Italian trip from the deck and the stunning view of Monorola. I posted one on the A Casa Cinque Terre Facebook wall. Also it is really nice renting from a local company, and folks who have lived in the Cinque Terre for generations... Both in that it supports locals and they are a wealth of information and advice about what to do in the region. They are thoughtful, prompt and easy to communicate with, I would choose this option over hotels or airbnb again and again, and plan to in the near future.

This review is for the bar/cafe downstairs. We had the pleasure of enjoying our morning coffees and…read morebreakfasts here while in Riomaggiore. The staff was super friendly and patient and the cappuccinos were heavenly! Perfectly made every time. Their fresh made croissants were some of the best I've ever had. This place is definitely worth stopping in at if you're in the area and I hope to visit again some day!

Stopped by to have a quick simple breakfast before heading out for sightseeing…read more We are not their hotel guests but the lady was very friendly and the coffee and croissants were fresh and tasty!

Lovely little hotel on the top of Manarola…read more Hotel is almost directly above the tunnel to rail station. Be prepared for quite a climb up to the hotel. From the tunnel take a right about 50 yards to an incline walkway to the right that starts the climb up. After about a 100 yd climb, take a left to find via Rollandi. Go up stairs, and continue on to #98 on the left. Once you get there you will find a charming little hotel with very modern accommodations Rooms are spacious and bathrooms are quite large for European standards Our room had a small balcony with a little clothes line if you would like to rinse a few things and let them hang in the Italian sun. Room is also air conditioned. Tv. Coffee pot with tea. No coffee. Right next door is a pretty good little restaurant that we ordered food to go and had our dinners on the patio between the two establishments.

It's more like an AirBNB than a hotel. We only ever saw one staff member who seemed to be both the…read moremaid and the front desk. She was friendly and very helpful (drew us a great map of town and made us dinner reservations) but she is not on duty often and rooms are cleaned only every other day (I don't need a full cleaning very often but I like fresh towels every day). We arrived at 4 pm but there was no one there to let us in. Fortunately we had been emailed instructions in advance. The directions to find the place were confusing (it's right as you exit the tunnel from the train station and right next door to a mini mart; the door is more wood than yellow), but once we found the door we were able to use the code to get into the building and had no problems getting into our room. If you're from the US and won't have cell service in Italy make sure you get the building code in advance! I booked the "luxury room" with a terrace for a small extra fee. It was immaculately clean and perfectly comfortable but rather sparsely appointed and not really what I'd call luxury. We didn't make as much use of the terrace as I had hoped, largely because we were out trying to see the other four towns, but partly because the chairs didn't have cushions and weren't super comfortable. In early May the temperature still dipped into the low 50s at night and even with the blanket we found in a cupboard we were quite chilly. The biggest drawback to this room, however, is that it is up four flights of stairs and the building has no lift. It was pretty unpleasant to come back to after a long day of hiking. They really should make this clearer on their website. For us it was merely an annoyance but for the disabled or elderly it could be a much bigger issue. There is free wi-fi but it was extremely spotty and I was never able to get it to work in the bedroom. Overall, the location is great and the price struck me as reasonable but I can't really enthusiastically recommend San Giorgio. It was a serviceable place to stay in Manarola, which was our favorite Cinque Terre village, but not quite what we had hoped for.

Manarola is a gem in the Cinque Terre. Relaxation with eye popping beauty and terrific food. Our…read moreapartment in Affitacamere San Giorgio was very comfortable, clean, and had a wonderful view of the beach and city. We loved it! A short walk to the train station easily connects to the other Cinque Terre towns and the hiking trails are also very accessible. The view comes at the cost of a healthy trek up the hill. We visited all the towns and felt that Manarola had the small town, not as touristy, good food vibe we were looking for. Simone, the manager was the best: helpful and prompt in responding to our needs.

I Limoni di Thule Camere Via Tracastello 44 (splits off…read morefrom Via De Gaspari at the Castello) www.limonicamere.it Owners Christina & Alessandro both speak English; they are super helpful, gracious, and hardworking. Very impressive property on the hillside; two furnished units; bottom one has a very nice kitchen with all the utensils; stove with 4 burners; nice little refrigerator Beautiful views and nice outdoor Nice bathroom and shower Plenty of closet and drawer space Free wi-fi! Yeah! Have a television a hundred plus channels This place is a great jumping off place for CT5 and Portovenere Directions from the Riomaggiore train station: This is the easiest way: from disembarkation from the train, go down the tunnel, up to the bottom of Via Colombo, the main street of Riomaggiore. If you have a lot of luggage or don't like to walk, there is a little bus that goes and up down the hill, 2€; just tell I Limoni. Note, that the local people know everyone else in town. Otherwise, you can walk up the hill (steep) 12-15 minutes going through two little gates; turning left at Via De Gaspari at the info center past the car parking area; continue 8-10 minutes going past the wonderful Ripa del Sole restaurant to about 50 meters past the Castella (hence the name of the street). If you have heavy luggage, I recommend that you do not try doing the stairs.